Rafer Weigel
Encyclopedia
Rafer Weigel is the weekend sports anchor and reporter at WLS-TV
in Chicago. He was sports anchor for CNN
HLN’s Morning Express with Robin Meade
and a former actor.
and former WGN-Radio news anchor Kathy Worthington. He is the grandson of Weigel Broadcasting
founder and former Lawrence Welk
radio announcer, John Jacob Weigel.
Weigel has two sisters, Jenniffer Weigel
, a former Chicago television news anchor and published author, and Teddi, who began high school in 2008. Weigel has been married to photographer Tiffany Weigel since June 2002. They had their first child, son Heathcliff John Weigel, on November 20, 2009. Weigel is named after Olympian Rafer Johnson
.
Growing up, Weigel regularly spent time among journalists and media personalities, including columnist Mike Royko
, Studs Terkel
, Steve Dahl
, Gene Siskel
and Richard Roeper
.
His father Tim began his career as a newspaper beat writer and eventually became a popular Chicago sports anchor. He died of cancer at the age of 55 in 2001. Weigel decided to follow in his father's footsteps after his death.
's Young People's company which featured such notables as John Cusack
, Joan Cusack
and Jeremy Piven
. He worked summers as an intern for his father at WLS-TV
.
Weigel continued his education at the University of Illinois in Champaign, graduating with a degree in Theatre in 1992 after finishing his studies in London
.
and worked with others such as The Wisdom Bridge, Bailiwick, and Organic theatres. His first television role was a small part on the locally-filmed TV show The Untouchables
.
In 1993, Weigel was hired for a news magazine show featuring younger journalists and brought out to Hollywood.
Shortly thereafter, Weigel was hired as an on-camera host for VH1
where he joined now fellow Headline News anchor A.J. Hammer.
In 1995, Weigel returned to Hollywood, landing small speaking roles on ER
and Party of Five
, and guest starring on JAG
, Charmed
, and the former Vengeance Unlimited
. In 1997, Weigel was hired as a series regular on the NBC
sitcom Jenny
, starring former fellow Chicagoan Jenny McCarthy
. The series lasted only one season.
Soon thereafter, Weigel began his film career in the lead role opposite William Shatner
and Eric McCormack
in the cult movie Free Enterprise
, and then alongside Emilio Estevez
and Charlie Sheen
in the Showtime film Rated X
.
that opened the door for him as a freelance writer covering high school sports. Weigel covered games all over the Chicago area and wrote regular features on local high school athletes. He also hosted a weekly radio show on WCKG
called "Celebrity Rock."
A year later, he and his wife, Tiffany, relocated back to Los Angeles, where he worked as a clerk in the sports department at The Los Angeles Times. He began writing articles for The Times on a freelance basis and a year later was hired full-time as a high school sports staff writer.
In February, 2006 he was hired by the CBS
-owned and operated station KOVR
in Sacramento
as a general assignment reporter where he covered breaking news, politics and national stories like the Tahoe
wildfires and wayward whales Delta and Dawn.
. Weigel and the CNN
Sports team extensively covered the 2008 Summer Olympics
in Beijing.
WLS-TV
WLS-TV, virtual channel 7, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, located in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The station operates their full power digital operations on UHF channel 44, with their digital fill-in translator on VHF channel...
in Chicago. He was sports anchor for CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
HLN’s Morning Express with Robin Meade
Morning Express with Robin Meade
Morning Express with Robin Meade is a morning television news program that airs on the HLN television network in the United States.-About the show:...
and a former actor.
Background
Weigel grew up in a journalism household in Evanston, Illinois—the son of the sports anchor and newspaper columnist Tim WeigelTim Weigel
John Timothy Weigel , known professionally as Tim Weigel, was a Chicago broadcaster who spent most of his career as a television sports anchor and reporter.- Early life and education :...
and former WGN-Radio news anchor Kathy Worthington. He is the grandson of Weigel Broadcasting
Weigel Broadcasting
Weigel Broadcasting is an American locally based television broadcasting company. The company is based in downtown Chicago, Illinois, alongside its flagship station WCIU-TV , at the apt address of 26 North Halsted Street in the Greektown neighborhood.- History :The company was founded by Chicago...
founder and former Lawrence Welk
Lawrence Welk
Lawrence Welk was an American musician, accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted The Lawrence Welk Show from 1955 to 1982...
radio announcer, John Jacob Weigel.
Weigel has two sisters, Jenniffer Weigel
Jenniffer Weigel
Jenniffer Colleen Weigel , known professionally as Jenniffer Weigel, is a Chicago television personality, author and performer who owns her own Chicago-area production company. She hosted Taste, a program aired on NBC affiliates both in New York and in Chicago and now writes a column for the...
, a former Chicago television news anchor and published author, and Teddi, who began high school in 2008. Weigel has been married to photographer Tiffany Weigel since June 2002. They had their first child, son Heathcliff John Weigel, on November 20, 2009. Weigel is named after Olympian Rafer Johnson
Rafer Johnson
Rafer Lewis Johnson is an American former decathlete and film actor.-Biography:Johnson was born in Hillsboro, Texas, but the family moved to Kingsburg, California, when he was nine. For a while, they were the only black family in the town. A versatile athlete, he played on Kingsburg High School's...
.
Growing up, Weigel regularly spent time among journalists and media personalities, including columnist Mike Royko
Mike Royko
Michael "Mike" Royko was a newspaper columnist in Chicago, who won the 1972 Pulitzer Prize for commentary...
, Studs Terkel
Studs Terkel
Louis "Studs" Terkel was an American author, historian, actor, and broadcaster. He received the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1985 for The Good War, and is best remembered for his oral histories of common Americans, and for hosting a long-running radio show in Chicago.-Early...
, Steve Dahl
Steve Dahl
Steven Robert Dahl has been an American radio personality and humorist for more than thirty years. He is currently podcasting, and releases the podcasts for download daily from his own website as well as the iTunes store...
, Gene Siskel
Gene Siskel
Eugene Kal "Gene" Siskel was an American film critic and journalist for the Chicago Tribune. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted the popular review show Siskel & Ebert At the Movies from 1975 until his death....
and Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Richard E. Roeper is an American columnist and film critic for The Chicago Sun-Times and now a co-host on The Roe Conn Show on WLS-AM...
.
His father Tim began his career as a newspaper beat writer and eventually became a popular Chicago sports anchor. He died of cancer at the age of 55 in 2001. Weigel decided to follow in his father's footsteps after his death.
Education
Weigel graduated from Evanston Township High School in 1987 where he started performing on stage with the Piven Theatre WorkshopPiven Theatre Workshop
The Piven Theatre Workshop is located in Evanston, IL and was founded by Joyce and Byrne Piven. For over 30 years, it has existed both as a professional theatre company and a training center for children and adults...
's Young People's company which featured such notables as John Cusack
John Cusack
John Paul Cusack is an American film actor and screenwriter. He has appeared in more than 50 films, including The Journey of Natty Gann, Say Anything..., Grosse Point Blank, The Thin Red Line, Stand by Me, Con Air, Being John Malkovich, High Fidelity, Serendipity, Runaway Jury, The Ice Harvest,...
, Joan Cusack
Joan Cusack
Joan Mary Cusack is an American film, stage and television actress. Throughout her career, Cusack has appeared in many films as well as appearing in stage productions....
and Jeremy Piven
Jeremy Piven
Jeremy Samuel Piven is an American film producer and actor best known for his role as Ari Gold in the television series Entourage for which he has won three Emmy Awards as well as several other nominations for Best Supporting Actor....
. He worked summers as an intern for his father at WLS-TV
WLS-TV
WLS-TV, virtual channel 7, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, located in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The station operates their full power digital operations on UHF channel 44, with their digital fill-in translator on VHF channel...
.
Weigel continued his education at the University of Illinois in Champaign, graduating with a degree in Theatre in 1992 after finishing his studies in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Acting career
Weigel's first acting job was with Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre as the title role in Master Harold...and the BoysMaster Harold...and the Boys
Master Harold...and the boys is a play by Athol Fugard. It was first produced at the Yale Repertory Theatre in early 1982 and made its premiere on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre on 4 May where it ran for 344 performances...
and worked with others such as The Wisdom Bridge, Bailiwick, and Organic theatres. His first television role was a small part on the locally-filmed TV show The Untouchables
The Untouchables (1993 TV series)
The Untouchables is an American crime drama series that aired for two seasons in syndication, from January 1993 to May 1994. The series portrayed work of the real life Untouchables federal investigative squad in Prohibition-era Chicago and its efforts against Al Capone's attempts to profit from the...
.
In 1993, Weigel was hired for a news magazine show featuring younger journalists and brought out to Hollywood.
Shortly thereafter, Weigel was hired as an on-camera host for VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
where he joined now fellow Headline News anchor A.J. Hammer.
In 1995, Weigel returned to Hollywood, landing small speaking roles on ER
ER (TV series)
ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
and Party of Five
Party of Five
Party of Five is an American teen drama television series that aired on Fox for six seasons, from September 12, 1994, until May 3, 2000.Critically acclaimed, the show suffered from low ratings and after its first season was slated for cancellation...
, and guest starring on JAG
JAG (TV series)
JAG is an American adventure/legal drama television show that was produced by Belisarius Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television and, for the first season only, NBC Productions...
, Charmed
Charmed
Charmed is an American television series that originally aired from October 7, 1998, until May 21, 2006, on the now defunct The WB Television Network. The series was created in 1998 by writer Constance M...
, and the former Vengeance Unlimited
Vengeance Unlimited
Vengeance Unlimited was a TV series broadcasted during 1998-1999 on ABC which lasted for just one season of sixteen episodes. The show starred Michael Madsen as Mr. Chapel, a mysterious and pragmatic character keen on serving justice to those who have been ignored by the law...
. In 1997, Weigel was hired as a series regular on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
sitcom Jenny
Jenny (TV series)
Jenny is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from 1997 to 1998. The series was intended to be a star vehicle for Playboy Playmate Jenny McCarthy.-Synopsis:...
, starring former fellow Chicagoan Jenny McCarthy
Jenny McCarthy
Jennifer Ann "Jenny" McCarthy is an American model, comedian, actress, author, activist, and game show host. She began her career in 1993 as a nude model for Playboy magazine and was later named their Playmate of the Year. McCarthy then parlayed her Playboy fame into a successful television and...
. The series lasted only one season.
Soon thereafter, Weigel began his film career in the lead role opposite William Shatner
William Shatner
William Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...
and Eric McCormack
Eric McCormack
Eric James McCormack is a Canadian American actor, musician, writer and producer. Born in Toronto, he began his acting career performing in school plays at Stephen Leacock Collegiate Institute High School...
in the cult movie Free Enterprise
Free Enterprise (film)
Free Enterprise is a 1999 romantic comedy film starring Eric McCormack and Rafer Weigel, and featuring William Shatner, directed by Robert Meyer Burnett and written by Mark A...
, and then alongside Emilio Estevez
Emilio Estevez
Emilio Estevez is an American actor, film director, and writer. He started his career as an actor and is well-known for being a member of the acting Brat Pack of the 1980s, starring in The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo's Fire...
and Charlie Sheen
Charlie Sheen
Carlos Irwin Estevez , better known by his stage name Charlie Sheen, is an American film and television actor. He is the youngest son of actor Martin Sheen....
in the Showtime film Rated X
Rated X (film)
Rated X is a 2000 film starring brothers Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez, with the latter also directing. It is based on the nonfiction book X-Rated by David McCumber which chronicles the story of the Mitchell brothers, Jim and Artie Mitchell, who were pioneers in the pornography and strip club...
.
Journalism career
When his father died on in 2001, he began his pursuit of a career in journalism and returned to Chicago. He wrote an essay after his father's death that ran in the Chicago Sun-TimesChicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
that opened the door for him as a freelance writer covering high school sports. Weigel covered games all over the Chicago area and wrote regular features on local high school athletes. He also hosted a weekly radio show on WCKG
WCKG
WCFS-FM , known on-air as "WBBM Newsradio 780 & 105.9", is a radio station licensed to Elmwood Park, Illinois and serving the Chicago, Illinois market...
called "Celebrity Rock."
A year later, he and his wife, Tiffany, relocated back to Los Angeles, where he worked as a clerk in the sports department at The Los Angeles Times. He began writing articles for The Times on a freelance basis and a year later was hired full-time as a high school sports staff writer.
TV career
Weigel's first on-camera journalism job came in 2005 as a freelance reporter for KUSI in San Diego for the weekend morning show—doing live remotes at events as well as covering breaking news. He continued working nights at The L.A. Times and mornings for the TV station.In February, 2006 he was hired by the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
-owned and operated station KOVR
KOVR
KOVR, channel 13, is an owned-and-operated station of the CBS Television Network located in Sacramento, California and licensed to Stockton. KOVR-TV shares its offices and studio facilities with sister station KMAX-TV in West Sacramento, California, and its transmitter is located in Walnut Grove,...
in Sacramento
Sacramento
Sacramento is the capital of the state of California, in the United States of America.Sacramento may also refer to:- United States :*Sacramento County, California*Sacramento, Kentucky*Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta...
as a general assignment reporter where he covered breaking news, politics and national stories like the Tahoe
Tahoe
Tahoe, or Lake Tahoe, is a large freshwater lake on the California–Nevada border.Tahoe may also refer to:* Tahoe, California* Chevrolet Tahoe, a sport utility vehicle...
wildfires and wayward whales Delta and Dawn.
HLN
In February 2008, Weigel joined the cast of the already-successful morning show Morning Express with Robin MeadeMorning Express with Robin Meade
Morning Express with Robin Meade is a morning television news program that airs on the HLN television network in the United States.-About the show:...
. Weigel and the CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
Sports team extensively covered the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
in Beijing.